We Need A Daddy Really Bad

James 5: 19-20
"My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God."

No metaphors today...just some thoughts about people who are hurting. People just like you and me. People whom we often give the short end of the stick.

A couple of years ago, Marilyn Manson performed on the American Music Awards. For those of you who are unaware of who he is, I'll tell you just a little bit about him. He's the lead singer of his self-titled band. They are a very dark band with a message which is very overtly against most of what Jesus is about. In fact, the name of one of their albums is "Anti-Christ Superstar." Marilyn Manson dresses up mockingly in priest's garb, wearing dark eye make-up, demonic contact lenses, getting his fans to jeer at Christianity. I am repulsed by what he stands for. I am repulsed by his looks, his presence, and the lyrics to his music.

And yet...

In the movie "Hook," the daughter of Peter who is being held hostage by Captain Hook, at one point looks at Captain Hook and says, "You need a mommy really bad."

That's what I think about Marilyn Manson. I think he needs a mommy...a daddy...a loving parent really bad.

Jesus talks about this kind of thing quite a bit. He says in His story as told by Matthew: "Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor." (Matthew 7:1-5)

We point at the dark make-up and demonic looks of Marilyn Manson, while at that very moment, a sneer of contempt for him is on our own faces! We judge him for his sneer, while at that very moment, we have one of our own. Excuse me Mr. Pot, who are we to call Mr. Kettle black? We're not all that clean ourselves.

It seems to me that Jesus also met up with a woman one time who was very obviously caught in some sin. She was a woman who was caught in adultery...sleeping with someone to whom she was not married. The people had gathered around her, judging her guilty, and were bending down to pick up stones to throw at her pitiful existence. Arms were poised and ready to begin the rocky onslaught. And Jesus looked at the woman. He saw the loneliness, the need, the hurt. Yeah, He knew she'd screwed up. But then again, haven't we all? And so Jesus turned to the mob which was preparing to stone this woman to death (imagine the pain of this...imagine having even one rock being thrown at you, let alone a whole crowd of angry people throwing them). Jesus turned to them and said: "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." (John 8:7)

And you can just hear Homer Simpson's "Doh!" echo in the silence of that moment when the shame of their own sins were realized in that moment. You can imagine that some of them even saw that woman differently. With pity instead of judgment. With mercy instead of condemnation.

A few years ago, we all were standing around in a circle with stones in our hands, poised and ready to throw at a certain President for his affair. Remember?

And so, I see this man who calls himself Marilyn Manson (first name is that of a beautiful woman, last name of a serial killer), and I see a man who is challenging me to see him through eyes of love and mercy. For if we give in and judge this man, then we become the very hypocrites he proclaims Christianity to be all about.

And truly, how much better are we? I may not proclaim Satan in the lyrics of my music, by each time I turn my back on Jesus and engage in any sin, Satan's name is proclaimed just as loudly as if I said it in words.

Marilyn Manson is somebody's little boy. A little boy, who has grown up and is very hurt, very lonely, and very angry. If we judge him...if we condemn him, how are we helping? Whereas, if we love him, if we pray for him, those like him, and those who follow him, then we are living out the antithesis of his message. We live out boldly a message which will eventually reach his heart. He'll see that Christianity is about love and mercy...not judgment and condemnation. He'll understand that Christians...each one of us...screw up. And how we choose to deal with our own screw-ups and those of others is what tells the truth about who Jesus is. If we face up to our mistakes, admitting them and we offer mercy and forgiveness to each other, then we rise above the dark message proclaimed by Marilyn Manson.

Jesus once told a story of a young man who lived a sinful life like most of us can only imagine from things we've seen in movies. At one point, this guy realizes his mistakes and goes home, expecting to receive judgment from his father. Instead, he receives his father's love and mercy. He is welcomed home into the loving arms of his father who is just glad to have him back.

I want Marilyn Manson back. I want to love this guy so much, that he can't help but to realize that he's wandered off from God's truth. I want to go after people like Marilyn Manson. Because in truth, my dear friends, we've all been him. We've all sinned. We've all wandered off from God's truth. And someone has gone after us and rescued us from destruction.

Are we any better than Marilyn Manson? I don't think so. I'm certainly not willing to throw any stones today. And truth be told, my face is just as messed up as his. Who am I to point out the smudges on his face, while I have a sneer on my own?

You remember that young man who took off to live that sinful life, only to be welcomed home into the loving arms of his daddy? Imagine what would have happened had his daddy rejected him, reacting with judgment and condemnation instead of love and mercy. He probably would have ended up even worse off than he already was. He needed a daddy really bad.

You and me, we need a Daddy really bad. One Who welcomes us home with loving arms of mercy and forgiveness. We need a Daddy, just like the one Jesus talks about over and over. His own Daddy in Heaven.

And Marilyn Manson, he needs a Daddy really bad. Let's go after people who've wandered away. Let's go after them with love and mercy. Let's love 'em so much that they'll want to return to God's truth. Let's ambush them with our love. Because they're not going to expect it. In fact, they might even reject it at first, disbelieving that we're "real" in our love.

But I know it's possible. I know...because I've sneered at Christianity myself. And someone loved me enough to not return my sneer. They loved me enough to go after me. Somebody proved me wrong.

Now let's prove the same to Marilyn and those like him. Let's stop this epidemic of people wandering away from God.